So says a suburban police-department recruit who abandoned his dream of joining the NYPD because the starting pay is so miserably low.

Instead of running drills with cadets on Manhattan’s East Side, this 21-year-old recruit was sweating in Massapequa, the training ground for the Nassau County Police Department, where the base pay dwarfs what cops make in the five boroughs.

“Of course, the first place you think of if you want to be a cop is the NYPD,” said the recruit from Douglaston, Queens, who did not want to give his name. “At some point, you have to take the money into consideration. If everything was equal, I would have definitely gone into the city. But respect doesn’t pay the bills.”

The starting annual salary for NYPD officers is slightly more than $25,000, a figure that department brass says makes it difficult to retain and recruit good cops. The salary jumps to $32,700 after six months.

Base pay for NYPD patrol officers maxes out at $59,588 annually – 36 percent less than Suffolk County’s maximum base pay of $94,417. State troopers make $75,678, Port Authority officers make $80,720, and cops in Nassau County can get more than $90,000.

Several months ago, the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation advertised openings for three puppeteers – jobs that would pay between $32,275 and $50,242 a year, with complete benefits and union representation.

But Police Commissioner Ray Kelly insists he doesn’t pull the strings on police salary. He said he sympathizes with recruits, and said the low pay could jeopardize public safety.

City firefighters just ratified a new contract that will pay new recruits $36,400 annually.

Mayor Bloomberg has blamed the police union for seeking to raise veteran cops’ salaries at the expense of starting pay – a choice ultimately approved by a contract arbitrator.

Despite the low pay, some new recruits have decided to make the sacrifice, including one single mother who took a salary cut to become a city cop.

“It’s very hard to make it on this pay,” said the candidate, who was making $40,000 a year at her last job. “Never mind the taxes and buying the equipment. I’m staying because I always wanted to be a policewoman. But it’s going to be a hard couple of years. I’ll do what I can for my kid. My needs will have to wait.”

Another recruit also was not optimistic about making ends meet.

“I knew the pay was going to be low and I thought I could handle it financially,” he said. “Now, I’m not so sure.”